Facebook 1.3 For Android Drains Battery Like Crazy

It was after ages that Facebook released an update for the Facebook mobile application for the Android OS to make it less crappy. The latest release of the application boasted of tons of new features like Photo Reel, Support for events etcetera. You can read about the change-log here.

However, I will suggest our readers not to download this application. What’s the reason you ask? According to Flipz the guy behind Fresh ROM’s the updated version of the Facebook app has a wake lock bug. This bug uses/wastes the CPU and the RAM/ROM power even when the phone is in sleep mode. This has a huge impact on the phone’s battery life and drains it in no time.

Device battery life will be significantly affected by the use of this API. Do not acquire WakeLocks unless you really need them, use the minimum levels possible, and be sure to release it as soon as you can.

If you hold a partial wakelock, the CPU will continue to run, irrespective of any timers and even after the user presses the power button.

Flipz has discussed about this problem in-depth on his blog. Here is the link to it. Hopefully, Facebook will release an update to fix this WakeLock bug sooner than later.